Machine for making and re-pressing bricks.



N0. 830,111. PATENTBD SEPT. 4, 1906.

l W. L. ST. CLAIR.

MACHINE POR MAKING AND RE-PRESSING BRICKS.

APPLICATION FILED 11.111,6. 1905.

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No. 830,111. .PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906. W. L. ST. CLAIR. MACHINE PUR MAKING AND RB-PRESSING BRICKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.8,1905.

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No. 830,111. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

W. L. s1. CLAIR. MACHINE F011 MAKING AND RE-PRBSSING BRIoKs.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..6.1905.

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PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

W. L. ST. CLAIR. MACHINE FOR MAKING AND REPRBSSING BRIGKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.6. 1905.

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No. 830,111. PATBNTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

W. L. sT. CLAIR. r MACHINE POR MAKING AND RE-PRESSING BRIGKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.6.1905. A

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VILLIAM L. ST. CLAIR, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. MACHINE FO MAKING AND RE-PRESSING ERICKS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. ST. CLAIR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented a new and useful Machine for Making and Bte-Pressing Brick, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide 1o an improved brick-pressing machine in which the working and wearing parts are arranged above the mud and dust and not subjected to the wear of machines having their wearing parts below the operative mud and in which I5 the parts are so arranged that they may efl fectively mold dry pressed brick in an expeditious manner and may also by changing a few minor parts re-press stiff-mud brick.

The invention consists in certain construczo tionsJ arrangements, and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of my imz 5 proved brick-pressing machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 isa rear elevation. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line X X of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top plan view. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are views of 3o cams employed, Figs. 6 and 8 being sectional views in the direction of the darts 1 and 2, respectively, of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view illustrating a portion of the moldtable, the mold, and the feeding-slide, the 3 5 latter being arranged at the outer limit of its movement. Figs. 10 and 11 are detail sectional views illustrating the feeding-slide and its actuating mechanism in two different positions. Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view 4o illustrating the lower plunger-level with the top of the mold-table and also illustrating in side elevation one of the cam-staffs and its guides. Fig'. 13 is a detail view of the spurwheel designed to drive the cam-shaft and the cam secured to said spur-wheel in an adjustable manner, the said cam being designed to actuate the feeding-slide and being shown in Figs. 10 and 11 from the opposite side. Figs. 14 and 15 are detail plan views illus- 5o trating the feeding-slide in dierent relative` positions to the mold. Fig. 16 is a top plan view, with parts in section, of a portion of the machine, illustrating in what respects the machine is changed to transform it from a re-press to a dry press. Fig. 17 is a similar view illustrating the feed-box at the inner limit of its movement. Figi. 18 is a detail transverse sectional view of the parts shown in Fig. 16 and in the same relative position. Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 18, except that some parts are omitted and the other parts'v are shown arranged as illustrated in plan view in Fig. 17.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The base A of the machine supports the framework B, consisting of vertical side members or standards, as best illustrated in Fig. 2. The base also supports a journal-standard i5, and the latter and the adjacent side member of the frame B carry journal-bearings a, in which the driving-shaft D is j our naled.

The shaft D is provided with a pulley O, by which the machine may be driven from any prime mover. The shaft D also carries a spur-pinion d@ meshing with a larger spurwheel N on one end of a transverse cam-shaft C, journaled in the two side members of the frame B, the wear of said shaftbeing taken up by means of plates J, adjustably mounted in the side members of the frame at the upper end thereof and adjusted by means of screws s, working in cap-plates c.

The cam-shaft C is connected, by means of a belt bs, to a lower transverse shaft c5, journaled in boxings q and designed to support an endless delivery-apron a, running in a hori- Zontal direction, and coacting with the shaft .95 for the support of the apron is a roller a', mounted upon a transverse shaft a8', and the latter is held in its proper position by means of struts b2 and horizontal supporting-rods e.

By means of the said supporting-rods the roller a and shaft as may be adjusted as to their distances from the shaft S5. lVithin the framework is mounted a mold 12 in horizontal alinement with the upper lap of the endless apron a5. This mold 112 is held by screws r9 in the mold-table t7, and the latter at a point opposite the receiving end of the de-V livery-apron ai" is provided with an extension t of angular formation, as best seen in Fig. 9.

The extension t of the mold-table has secured to it a transverse guide strap or bracket g3, in which the feeding-slide P is guided. The said feeding-slide is provided at its front end with a transverse feed-bar e, adjustably secured thereto by means of setscrews Z, so that the said bar may be ad- IOO justed for bricks of different lengths. At one l side of the feeding-slide is a longitudinal guide g4, designed to contact with one end of the feed-bar e9 to guide the same in connection with the guide g3.

The feeding-slide P is provided with a vertically-extending ear c, provided with an elongated slot k7, designed to receive the roller ks on a small shaft k, secured in the lower end of an arm m, projecting from a; rock-shaft L. The rock-shaft L extends transversely of the framework and is journaled in boxings o. It is provided with an arm F, having a laterally-extending end fitting within a cam-groove in the cam-disk M, screwed to the spur-wheel N, and the connection between said cam-disk and the spurwheel is through circumferential slots t8 and` bolts mounted in said slots, so that the canidisk may be adjusted axially and held in different relative positions on the spur-wheel N. By means of the cam-disk M and the spurwheel N the rock-shaft L obtains its rocking motion to effect the reciprocation of the Afeeding-slide P, so as to feed a brick into the mold r2 and also sweep it past said mold7 after being pressed or re-pressed, onto a deliveryapron a5 by pushing against it the next brick to be fed into the mold.

My machine embodies a lower plunger I, designed to reciprocate vertically in the lower end of the mold r2 and supported on a crosshead CF, the cross-head at the lower limit of its movement contacting with a lever d ad-. justably mounted on a transverse shaft ini boxings b3, so that the lever may rock in ai vertical plane, one end of said leverreceiving a threaded rod S, swiveled on a shaft u ina boxing S9 on the base A. Above-the lever b i the said rod S has mounted on it a handwheel h', which is screw-threaded, as is also the rod S, and by this means the lever b may be tilted to different positions, so as to limit l the downward movement of the plunger I at Q different elevations.' The machine also embodies an upper plunger i', which is detachably connected to a support K and is de-.

signed to move vertically above and into the l mold r2 in vertical alinement with the lower plunger I.

The actuating means for the two plungers before described is constituted by two cams el@ on the cam-shaft@ and an intermediate c'am 018, working within a cam-housing composed of front andback plates gw, top and bottom plates E and E, respectively, and upper and lower wear-plates 031 and c, respectively. The camhousing carries the support K for the upper plunger fi', said support being directly connected to the lower plate E', and the said housing is guided by means of four vertical guide-strips g, secured to the inner sides of the side members of the frame B. The guide-strips g, as best seen'in Fig. 5, contact with the outer' sides of the front and back plates g10 at the edges thereof.

To the cross-head dl for the lower plunger I two cam-staffs G are secured, said camstaffs having reduced lower ends, as shown in Fig. l2, that are directly connected to crosshead (Z7 and being provided at their upper ends with suitable openings to receive the cams 015. In these openings wear-plates 033 are adjustably secured by means of setscrews r', said wear-plates receiving the direct wear of the cams 016. By reference particularly to Figs. 4, 5, and l2 it will be noted that the cam-staffs G are guided at their upper ends 'within the cam-housing before described, being guided at one side by the front and back plates glo at the sides thereof and being supported on their outer faces by means of the framework B and supported below the cam-housing by guides H. It is to be understood that while the cam-housing for the cam 018 assists in guiding the camstas G said housing and said cam-staffs are independently movable.

In the practical operation of my improved brick-machine when the same is arranged to re-press brick a brick is placed on the moldtable against the guide g4 and in advance of the feed-bar e9, and as the machine is driven the rocking of the shaft L will move the slide P from its Outer position, (shown in Fig. 9,) where it is limited by contact with the crossguide g3, to an inner position, by which it will feed the brick into .the mold. The simultaneous rotation of the cam-shaft C will turn the cam 018 downwardly against the lower wear-plate C34, which will result in pressing the stem or support K and upper plunger i/ downwardly upon the brick, and the brick IOO will be pressed into the mold or die r2. At y the same time cams c and c1G will lower the cam-staffs G `with the lower plunger t, so that the brick follows the die block or plunger fi into the mold-die r2 and the brick receives the desired pressure of the upper plunger while it rests upon the lower plunger I, the latter being in turn supported by the short arm of the lever b. At the next instant the brick will be raised by the upward motion of the plunger I, through the instrumentality of the cams c16 and cam-staffs G, to a level with the die-table t7. At the next revolution of the spur-wheel N this pressed brick will be pushed off the die-table t7 by the action of the next brick, having received the same forward movement from the feed-slide P, onto the delivery-apron a5. rlhe thickness of the brick produced may be obviousl y regulated by adjusting' the lever b It is 'obvious that the instant of throw of the feedfrom a re-press to a dry press, the guides g3 and g4, the feeding-slide P, and the rocking shaft L, heretofore described, are removed and replaced by another rocking shaft L, similar in construction as to its arm F, but having two downwardly-projecting armsmz. (See Fig. 16.) The arms m12 are each provided with a link Z5, which connectthem to opposing sides of a mold-feeder U, having in one end a feed-cavity 18.

Secured to the die-table t7, before referred to, is a feed-hopper Q, through which the material may be fed to fill the feed-cavityfls. Figs. 18 and 19 illustrate in section the relative positions of the feeder U with respect to the mold r2 and the feed-hopper Q.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination of a mold-box, upper and lower plungers for said mold, a cam-shaft provided with three cams, means yfor driving said shaft, a cam-housing for the intermediate cam, said housing consisting of front and back plates guided vertically, and top and bottom plates, the intermediate cam being designed to raise and lower said housing and the upper plunger being carried by said housing, two camstaffs operatively connected to the lower plunger, said cam-staffs being provided with openings receiving respectively the two outsidecams and said cam-staffs fitting between the front and back plates of the cam-housing and guided thereby at their ends, and guides H for the cam-staffs below said cam-housing, as and for the purpose set forth,

2. In a brick-pressing machine, the combination of a framework, a mold in said framework, upper and lower plungers designed to work in said mold, a cam-housing carrying the upper plunger and consisting of front and back plates and top and bottom plates, vertical guidestrips g secured to the framework and contacting with the outer face of the frontand back plates of the cam-housinfr at the edges thereof whereby to guide said housing vertically, upper and lower wearplates secured to the inner faces of the top and bottom plates of the cam-housing, camstaffs operatively connected t6 the lower plunger and provided with openings to receive cams, and adjustable wear-plates in said openings, the cam-staffs fitting within the front and back plates of the cam-housing and being guided at their upper ends by said front and back plates and by the sides of the framework, a cam-shaft provided with an intermediate cam and two side cams, the intermediate cam working in the cam-housing and contacting with the upper and lower wear-plates to raise and lower said housing and the upper plunger, and the two side cams working respectively against the wear-plates in the openings of the cam-staffs whereby to raise the lower plunger, guides H embracing said cam-staffs below the cam-housing and means for actuating said cam-shaft substantially as set forth.

3. A brick-machine comprising a framework, a mold in said framework, upper and lower plungers designed to workin said mold,

'means for vertically reciprocating said plungers, said means including a driven spurwheel, a cam-disk secured to said spur-wheel and axially adjustable thereon whereby to change the relative positions of its cam, a rockeshaft mounted in the framework and provided with an arm operatively connected to said cam-disk for actuation thereby, a reciprocating feeding device operatively connected to said rock-shaft and located at one side of the mold, a delivery-apron mounted at the opposite side of the mold, a shaft supporting one end of said apron, driving connections between the spur-wheel and said shaft of the apron, a shaft supportinfT the other and outer end of said apron, inclined struts b2 secured at their lower ends to the framework and supporting the shaft at the outer end of the apron at their upper ends and rods e extending longitudinally from theupper ends of said struts to the shaft at the inner end of the apron.

WILLIAM L. ST. CLAIR. Witnesses:

SAM RANEY, WILLIAM R. HALL. 

